Come what may
by NikaDex
Summary: Tony gets himself into trouble at a crime scene and Gibbs has to try everything to save him. But be nice, it's my first fanfic! Father/Son Papa Bear! Set after "Flesh and Blood" -I've decided to delete the last chapter and gonna continue the story.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! **

**This is it, my first own fanfiction! I really hope you all enjoy it! And a biiiig thank you to Soul Music, my friend and Beta! Ery you're amazing! **

**Oh and I'm not a native english-speaker, so I apologise for any weird sounding sentences :D And I use british english, sorry about that :D (Oh no! Rule 6!)**

**And another note: This is set after the episode "Flesh and Blood"!**

0700h in the morning. He was standing in the lift with a cup of steaming, black coffee. He had to think about what happened yesterday, and had to talk to Tony again. Tony had to know that he does have a family that cares for him. With the familiar "bing" the doors opened. He walked slowly through the doors, standing still to watch his senior agent; Tony was working on his computer, seeming busy. Then he heard McGee's voice and smirked.

"Tony's mask is back."

He just did not know if it was a good or bad sign...

"Oh, not again! Tony!"

When Gibbs entered the bullpen he saw McGee with this fingers glued to the keyboard. Gibbs just rolled his eyes and looked at DiNozzo who had a big grin all over his face. As soon as he saw Gibbs staring at him, his face went blank. Gibbs heard Ziva laughing at her desk, turning around he looked at her with a rasied eyebrow.

Ziva immediately stopped, looking at Tony, who said smirking:

"You learn fast young Padawan."

"Thank you, Master" Ziva replied giving him a huge smile.

Gibbs tried not to smirk, but was a little bit glad that Tony was back, although he knew that Tony had hidden his real feelings once again.

"Gibbs..." McGee began to whinge.

"McGee!" Gibbs turned to him, "Will you ever learn?"

Shaking his head, Gibbs went to his desk.

Tony grinned at McGee, "Take it easy McCranky!"

After McGee had freed himself from the keyboard, Gibbs got a call. Slamming the phone back he gave the order: "Grab your gear, we've got a dead Marine."

"Wow, that's unusual." Tony said. The head slap which came was not unexpected.

After arriving at the crime scene, they entered the huge warehouse. It was located at a harbour in a large industrial area. They discovered the body between wooden pallets. He had been stabbed several times in his abdomen and chest. The whole floor and wood were covered with blood.

After they finished bagging the evidence and Ducky had loaded the body into the truck with Palmer's help they drove back to the NCIS building.

Tony was smiling like always when he sat down on his chair. But then it hit him.

Gibbs noticed Tony was looking nervously down from behind his desk and then searched for something.

"What is it DiNozzo?"

Tony's head snapped back and looked at Gibbs, flustered.

"I..er...I...have.."

"What?" Gibbs became quickly impatient, they did have a murder to solve.

"Well, I...this is kinda embarrassing..." he blushed.

"Dammit DiNozzo, spit it out, we've got a lot to do!"

"I think I've forgotten my bag at the crime scene..."

"You did what?" Gibbs didn't even try to hide his anger any more.

"I don't believe that, for how long do you work for me now?" he shouted and got up from his chair.

"Go get it, but HURRY!"

He didn't have to say it twice, Tony was out of the bullpen in a blink of an eye.

Gibbs stared after him, shook his head once again and continued with his paperwork.

Tony cursed under his breath as he arrived at the warehouse. Storming in he stopped suddenly.

_Voices? Who is that, I thought everyone left. _

He stepped closer and thought of calling Gibbs, but decided against it, just in case it would blow his cover. He could call him later, after he listened to what the people had been saying, maybe it was important.

He hid behind a large pile of pallets, looking at the two men who seemed to arguing.

"...told you we should have stayed! Now he is gone and they'll find us!"

"Ewan calm down! They won't find us. The Marine won't tell anyone anything!"

"Of course he won't, we killed him! Well, actually, you killed him! That wasn't necessary, Charlie!"

"Yes, it was. He knew what we look like, and what we've done. Would you like to be in prison now? I can arrange that, let me just give them a call."

Charlie made a move to dial a number on his mobile phone, but Ewan grabbed it out of his hands.

"No, I don't. Stop that!"

Charlie smirked.

"Well, I just hope they won't find any evidence on.."

Charlie stopped mid sentence. A mobile phone was ringing.

_Is someone else here?_

"No, no, no, no, no, no! Not now!"

Tony quickly got his phone out of his pocket but hoped he hadn't attracked any attention.

"What?" He tried to whisper.

"Where the hell are you DiNozzo?" Gibbs didn't sound happy.

Instead of answering, Tony checked if Charlie and Ewan noticed something. He looked back at the place where they stood just ten seconds before.

They were gone.

"Tony? What's wrong? DiNozzo? Say something!"

Tony turned around and looked straight in Charlie's face. Then he felt a sharp pain on the side of his head and everything went black.

Charlie picked up Tony's phone. He could hear Gibbs' yelling.

"Who is this?" Charlie asked.

"What? Who wants to know that? Where is Tony?"

"Well Tony here can't answer at the moment. If you want him back, come alone, now. No tricks, understood? Oh and I guess you know where to find us."

He hung up before Gibbs could answer.

It was quiet in the bullpen. Ziva and McGee just staring at Gibbs who was gazing at the phone in his hand.

_Why always you, Tony? Why?_

"Gibbs! What happened? Where is Tony?"

He was a bit surprised and looked over at her. Of course, they'd heard everything he'd said on the phone. He didn't know what to say. They said go alone. But he knew that Ziva and McGee would never stay here, especially knowing that Tony is in danger.

"Tony is in trouble." Were the only words he could manage. Ziva stood now in front of Gibbs desk.

"What are we going to do?"

"You two aren't gonna to do anything. I have to go alone." He tried.

"You want to go alone? You don't even know who that is or how many there are! You don't know anything about what's going on there. And you want to go alone? You might bring yourself and Tony in danger!"

Gibbs stared a few seconds at the floor until he looked back at Ziva and McGee finally giving up.

"Alright, you come with me, but you stay outside and do everything I say. Got it?"

They both were already getting their guns, saying "yes" in unison.

Gibbs made the 20 minutes drive in about 5. When they arrived nothing seemed suspicious;

they left the car and made their way to the entrance.

Gibbs looked at his junior agents and told them to wait there. Slowly, he made his way into the warehouse, trying to be quiet but knowing that they had to be aware that he was there when he heard a familiar voice.

"Gibbs! Please, just go back. I can handle them. Just run!" He could hear the pain in Tony's voice.

"Boss, they are two..." Tony suddenly stopped, Gibbs heard a thump and a small moan.

"You bastards, what have you done to him?" he hurried towards the group. His eyes flew to Tony who lay crumpled on the ground with his eyes shut. He held his head in his hands, blood was trickling trough his fingers.

One of the men had a gun pointed at Tony's head, which Gibbs indentified as Tonys's own, the other one standing a few metres away. The one with the gun was grinning at how angry Gibbs was.

"We haven't done anything really…Let's just say we now have a broken bottle and a dent in the side of your agents head shaped like a SIG grip."

"What do you want?" Gibbs growled, trying hard not to show his anger, but it was easier said than done.

"Well for one, give me your gun. And no tricks or he'll regret it."

Gibbs slowly reached for his gun and put it on the floor, kicking it over to the man.

"Ewan, take it!" he pointed at the other man who hadn't said a word since Gibbs came in.

Ewan did as he was told and gave the gun to Charlie.

"Your name is Gibbs right?" Gibbs simply nodded, his eyes never left Tony. "I want you to sit next to your boy, but move slowly!"

Charlie moved back from Tony but had his gun still pointed at him. Gibbs sat down next to Tony. Before he could try to wake Tony up, Charlie ordered Ewan to cuff them.

Ewan first cuffed Gibbs and then turned to Tony, looking at him he decided not to cuff him. "He won't do any harm anyway, Charlie, there is no need to cuff him." Charlie hesitated but finally nodded. Ewan got up on his feet and whispered something into Charlie's ear, which Gibbs couldn't understand. But now that he had the opportunity, he turned to Tony.

"Hey, Tony, can you hear me?"

Tony opened his eyes and looked around blearily. "Where, where are we?"

"Don't you remember? You went back to the warehouse to get your bag." Gibbs tried.

Tony cocked his eyebrows. "Which warehouse? Boss, why does my head hurts so much?"

Tony tried to get up in a sitting position but stopped when he saw his bloody hands.

"Is that my blood?" Tony answered with a small voice.

"Yeah, Tony it is." Gibbs frowned and put a hand on Tony's shoulder. That wasn't a good sign at all. He really hoped Ziva and McGee were still there and would call for back up. There was no way Gibbs could do this on his own.

**A review would be nice :) Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay, people, I'm sorry you had to wait a bit longer, more than I told most of you…BUT, here comes the big BUT. I've got my English Exams this, next and the week after that. And of course, since yesterday, I think I've got sinusitis! Why does that always happen at the right time -.- that's also the reason why it's not a lot, but I've got so much going on…I hope you forgive me. I'll see if I can write something at the weekend, and I hope it's not getting worse. Enough complaining! I hope you're all doing fine!**

**Anni**

"Right, I want you two to stay there, and be keep quiet! We'll be back in a minute. And don't you worry, we'll be just next door." He Charlie said as he pushed Ewan into an old office just a few metres away from Tony and Gibbs.

Gibbs' first thought was to run, but then realised that unfortunately Ewan not only had cuffed his hands, but also his feet together. And he was sure Tony was in no condition to walk anywhere. He looked down at his senior field agent and saw that he was back on the ground and had his eyes closed. Gibbs was sure Tony had a concussion and knew that it wasn't the best idea to let him sleep.

"Hey, Tony. C'mon, wake up, you have to stay awake." He tried to shake his agent's shoulders, but abruptly stopped when he felt a pat on his leg. Turning around he saw Ziva kneeling next to him, her knife already set on his plastic cuffs.

"Ziva! How the hell..?" He looked at her wide-eyed.

"Shh!" Ziva put a finger to her mouth.

After Ziva got his cuffs off, he focused back on Tony who still didn't give any sign of waking up.

"Tony, Tony! Wake up!" Tony didn't move a muscle.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs tried more forcefully.

All of a sudden Tony's eyes opened. He immediately started trembling uncontrollably and sweat was building on his forehead.

"Wh…where, where am I? " he stuttered. Gibbs frowned.

"Hey, Tony, calm down, we're in the warehouse, I just told you about it, didn't I?"

Tony gave Gibbs a confused look. "Oh…you did?"

"Yes, I did, but never mind for the minute, we've got to get out of here, quickly." He gripped Tony's arms on his left side and Ziva took the other side. They lifted him on his feet but didn't get any help from Tony, who was trying to stay conscious. He felt dizzy, nauseous and his head hurt like it was about to explode.

"Gotta help us a bit Tony." Gibbs panted, while he hastened)to the back door.

"I…I can't, I…" Tony tried to answer but but he lost consciousness in the middle of the sentence.

"Great…Ziva, where's McGee?"

"He's waiting.." A loud yell interrupted her.

"Hey! Stop! NOW!" Charlie came rushed out of the office and immediately opened fire. He shot wildly) in direction of the group of three. Suddenly, McGee came running pass them and fired back. Ziva let go of Tony and did the same. Charlie was taken aback by the abrupt attack and ran back into the office. McGee and Ziva followed him and Ewan, leaving Gibbs to drag Tony's dead weight out of the warehouse. As soon as they were outside, Gibbs looked for their car. Just a second later Ziva and McGee left the warehouse as well.

"They locked the door, shall we go and get them?" Ziva asked.

"No, we need to get Tony to the hospital, NOW!" Gibbs yelled while he struggled to get the still unconscious Tony into the backseat. McGee sprinted to Gibbs side to assist him. Ziva on the other hand jumped into the driver's seat and turned the engine on. Now that Tony was settled next to Gibbs, McGee raced to the front seat. As soon as McGee closed the door Ziva drove off.

Gibbs paced through the waiting room once again; Ziva and McGee were sitting on the white, uncomfortable, plastic chairs, neither said a word.

After half an hour, Gibbs stopped pacing, finally sitting down. But of course, just as he plopped into the chair, the door opened and a tall man in a white coat entered the room. Gibbs instantly rose from the chair and approached him.

"What's the verdict?" The doctor smirked, he saw that the person in front of him was a man of few words, so he just kept it short and answered.

"Well, Agent DiNozzo's suffered a severe concussion. He has a few stitches in his forehead and will be in a hell of a lot pain for about one week, but he should recover fully."

Ziva, McGee and Gibbs sighed in relief, but the doctor spoke again.

"Although…" Gibbs stared at the doctor in front of him.

"Although what? Is there something you don't wanna tell us?" The doctor hesitated.

"Well, no, sorry, I didn't mean that it like that. I'm just saying that it is important that he stays here. I saw in his file that he likes to sign himself out very early. But his concussion is serious, of he isn't observed, he could suffer brain damage. So please try and make sure he stays."

Gibbs, who still looked wide-eyed at the man in the white coat, tried to calm himself from the shock, nodding and adding: "Yeah, doc, I'll take care of him. Can we see him?"

"Yes, of course you can, he is not awake, though. I expect him to wake up in a couple of hours. Follow me, I'll show you where his room is." He turned around and led the way.

Ziva and McGee entered Tony's room first, Gibbs had said that he wanted to get a coffee. He also told them to go back to the office when they visited him and see if the evidence could lead them somewhere. They both knew that Gibbs wanted to be alone with Tony and they respected it.

_I've got to call Abby, she'll be livid if I don't tell her._

He'd told her Tony would be all right, the hardest thing would be to convince her to stay at the Navy Yard and not come here. They had to solve this murder.

He went back slowly, he wanted to make sure Ziva and McGee had left when he entered Tony's room.

After he opened the door, and closed it back behind him, he threw his only half finished coffee in the bin. It had been more of an excuse than anything else. Then he walked slowly to his agents bedside and sat down. Tony was lying completely still, which wasn't right.

"I have to say Tony, in situations like this, I really miss your film references and other crap you can't keep in your head." Gibbs flinched when he suddenly heard Tony speaking, still with his eyes closed.

"I will keep that in mind, Boss. Shame I couldn't record it." Gibbs tried to hide his smile. He was relieved when he heard Tony speaking as if nothing had happened.

"If you didn't have a concussion…." He didn't finish his threat, Tony knew what he meant and honestly, for once, he didn't even have a clue what to add.

Gibbs saw Tony smiling, but still had his eyes shut, that made him curious. "Hey, Tony, do you have problems opening your eyes?" He questioned.

"Oh, no, no Boss, it's just, ah, a bit bright in this room, tried to open them a couple of minutes ago, and hm…kinda hurts." He winced and put a hand over his eyes.

Gibbs looked with concern at Tony "Are you in pain?"

"Only when I open them, and please don't call them, I want to sleep anyway, very tired, and I really don't need more meds in my system, you know what they do to me."

Gibbs eyed him but understood what he was saying. He stood up from Tony's bed and just wanted to get a chair, Tony's voice startled him, he sounded almost scared, like a kid.

"Are you leaving?" Gibbs couldn't think of an answer, he could hear something in his voice…fear? He grabbed his chair and put it next to Tony's bed. After he settled down on it, he touched his senior field agent's shoulder and squeezed it softly.

"No, Tony, I'm not leaving your side. I've got your six. Get some rest, I'll be here when you wake up. Promise."

As a result, Tony relaxed visually and drifted off to sleep. Gibbs just wanted to settle back in his chair to get some sleep himself, when the door flew open. Everything happened quickly. Two male nurses came inside the room and Gibbs recognised them immediately.

"YOU!" He yelled and jumped off his seat, but it was too late. Charlie had a white cloth over his mouth and nose in a blink of an eye. He struggled to get free, but the chloroform had already done its job. He sank to the floor as darkness surrounded him.


	3. Chapter 3

**I am wondering if there are people who are still willing to read this chapter, which I hope is better than the old one! And if people read the chapter and like it, I'm gonna continue :) I hope it was okay to delete the other one, but the chapter was really crappy...so I tried again :) Oh and of course, thanks xenascully for being an inspiration and beta :)**

**Thanks for reading!**

**Anni**

Gibbs awoke confused and disorientated. He had a splitting headache and his first thought was that he couldn't see. But it turned out that he was sitting in a pitch-black room. He sat up and leaned against the cold wall. His eyes adjusted slowly to the darkness until he saw slight silhouettes. It appeared to be a reasonably small room, without any furniture.

Then it hit him...

"Tony!" he shouted into the room. The answer was a very quiet moan from the corner opposite him. "Tony I'm comin'!" Gibbs crawled on his hands and knees until he felt Tony's legs under his hands. "You okay?" There was no response from his agent. "Tony, talk to me!" He groped his way up Tony's body until he reached his face. Tony was lying on his back, sprawled over the cold, moist floor. Gibbs laid a palm on his Senior Agent's head and almost winced when he felt how hot his skin was.

Tony stirred beneath the touch and said, without opening his eyes, "Boss? Where are we?"

"Well, for once, I don't have the slightest idea…" Gibbs stopped for a second, and asked with a little bit of fear, "But you do remember what happened right?" He really didn't want Tony to have amnesia; not here. He didn't even know where they were. They had to get out, quickly. Charlie and Ewan might be amateurs, but that type of crazy was sometimes the most dangerous of all. Charlie worried him most, out of the two. He was unpredictable.

Tony took a few moments but answered slowly, "Yeah, I remember. The same guys from the warehouse, right?"

"Yep, that'd be them," Gibbs let out a deep sigh, glad Tony remembered. "How are you feelin'?" he continued.

Tony took a good while before he could answer. "Well, could be better; could be worse, I guess. I mean, my head hurts like hell and I think I pulled my stitches out." He touched his forehead slowly and flinched when he felt the moist sensation and a sharp pain shoot through his skull.

"Hurts huh?"

"Yeah…I think we should find a way out." Before Gibbs could react, Tony made a move to push himself into a sitting position. Too quickly for his body, a sudden wave of nausea hit him and he thought the floor was moving. But before his upper body fell to the ground, he felt Gibbs' arms around him. Gibbs pulled his coat off, put it on the floor, led Tony down so his head laid gently on the make-shift pillow.

"Let's say _I _find a way out and _you _stay here and wait for me." He patted Tony's cheek and got up.

"Sounds like a better plan, Boss," he replied, weakly. Gibbs made his way to the door, when it suddenly swung open; a bright light flooded the room and Gibbs had to cover his eyes. Charlie stormed into the room and almost knocked Gibbs, who didn't see him coming, down.

Without waiting for Charlie to say something, Gibbs yelled straight away, "What the hell do you want with us?"

Charlie grinned down at Gibbs and then at Ewan who had followed him a moment later into the room and answered in a calm voice, "Ah, ah, ah. I don't think you are in the right position to make demands, now are you?"

Gibbs just stared at him and looked back down on Tony, who still hadn't moved; his eyes closed once more. He knelt by his side, put a hand on Tony's shoulders and looked back at the two men. Charlie was still standing, grinning at the door with Ewan standing nervously a few steps back. Then Charlie came a step closer, saying, "Ewan will send a ransom demand to your Agency. Your boy here saw what he shouldn't have seen. We cannot risk to get caught. But, we are no killers. So we just want the money and to get out of here, okay? So just do what we tell you and nothing will happen! Got it?"

Gibbs frowned at him, got up and said with a surprisingly calm voice, "They will NOT give you the money. They…"

But Charlie cut him off, "Oh yes they will! Otherwise, I will hurt him," he scowled, pointing at Tony, "And then you!" Before Gibbs could reply, Charlie tossed Ewan out of the room and slammed the door closed.

Gibbs stood there in front of the door, peering at it exasperatedly. He returned to face Tony and suddenly noticed his shivering body. He had his arms slung around his abdomen and looked pale as a ghost. As he knelt back down, Tony's eyes opened.

"Big problem, huh?" the three, simple words took all his effort and it earned him a harsh coughing fit. Gibbs immediately lifted Tony's upper body into a sitting position until the coughing eased.

"I know it's not easy, but try an' get some sleep."

The answer was a weak nod and Tony's body relaxed slightly.

_How long have we been in here anyway? _Gibbs thought to himself. He lifted his arm only to realize that his watch was gone. "_Damn bastards,"_ he muttered under his breath. Looking back at Tony, he noticed something else. Wheezing. Tony was _wheezing_.

_This is not good. Not good at all..._

Gibbs sat down next to Tony, as if the closeness would somehow transfer some strength to his friend. Leaning his head against the wall and drifted off to sleep as well.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Gibbs awoke, all of a sudden, when he heard harsh coughing. He immediately turned his head to Tony who was struggling for air. Tony leaned heavily into Gibbs as he pushed him into a sitting position. After patting Tony's back, Gibbs felt Tony's body relax, but still shivering. Tony lifted his head from Gibbs' shoulder to look him into his eyes, "I'm so cold…"

"Yeah, I know. It's gonna be okay. C'mere," Gibbs put his arm protectively around Tony, who laid his head back on Gibbs' shoulder.

After a couple of hours, when the door swung open once again and an angry looking Charlie stormed into the room, Gibbs didn't even bother to look up. The gesture made Charlie even more furious and he almost yelled, "Bad news my friends; your agency won't give us the money."

"I told you that, before," Gibbs said calmly, still not looking at him.

"But, you know what? We won't kill you. No, we'll just leave you here!"

Gibbs face remained expressionless. Then suddenly Ewan spoke up, "Bu- but Charlie, we can't do that! Look at him!" He was pointing at Tony, who was still asleep, ashen and pale.

"Ewan, come here for a sec." They walked out of the door again, closing it behind them. Gibbs couldn't make out what they were talking about. So he turned to Tony, trying to wake him.

"Hey, Tony, time to wake up." No reaction. "C'mon Tony, don't do this to me," Gibbs said frantically. He tried to shake Tony a bit when he still didn't get a response. That's when he felt the heat radiating from Tony's body. He could see the redness and swelling of the wound on Tony's forehead.

"Shit," Was all he could think to respond with. He had to get them out of there, now! They couldn't wait for his team. They were good, yes, but he couldn't risk Tony's life even more than they already had.

"Tony! C'mon!" As this didn't work, Gibbs tried the hard way. "DiNozzo!" Tony's eyes flew open, staring, terrified, at his boss. "That's it. Good boy," Gibbs smiled at his senior field agent until his smile faded when he felt Tony shivering violently.

"B-boss? W-why i-i-is it s-s-so c-c-c-old in h-here?"

Gibbs ruffled Tony's hair and looked at the seemingly locked door. Then he furrowed his brows when he noticed something. _Is it possible? Are they that stupid? _

He put Tony's head gently back on his coat on the floor and got up to move to the door. There, he put his hand on the door handle and...the door pushed open. "I don't believe it," Gibbs looked dumbfounded at the door until he heard Tony mumbling something. He immediately turned around and knelt back to his agent on the cold floor.

"What was that Tony?"

"Sh-shouldn't w-we get ou-outta h-here?"

"Yeah, sure." Gibbs was taken aback by his own not typical slowness and went to get Tony up, first into a sitting position. That proved to be quite easy, for him.

Tony's head was throbbing. He held his head in both his hands and waited that the spinning of the room would stop. "You ok?" Gibbs queried.

"Yeah, jus' gimme a minute." When the spinning subsided, he gave Gibbs a slight nod. That was all Gibbs needed to lift Tony up on his feet. He immediately put an arm under Tony's shoulder. Tony on the other hand leaned heavily into Gibbs, trying to steady himself.

"Jeez Tony, you're like dead weight," Gibbs grunted under Tony's body weight.

They made their way through the door into a long corridor; seemed like they were below ground level. They reached stairs which went up to a hatch which wasn't locked as well. Gibbs had to lower Tony on the floor while he was opening the hatch as its doors were ancient and heavy. When he opened the hatch he was surprised how dark it was outside...and it was raining.

_Crap. Not gonna help Tony..._

The open doors let to a muddy path into a forest. The shed was surrounded by trees, so they didn't have any choice but to go into the deep woods. Gibbs went back to look at Tony you was still sitting on the steps where Gibbs had left him.

"Let's go kiddo. Gotta move." He gripped Tony's arm and lifted him up until he was on his feet again. After a bit of swaying Tony found the energy to put a foot in front of the other. As soon as they were through the doors and the rain pattered on them, Tony began to tremble.

"Friggin' cold," he muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Gibbs to hear.

"Yeah I know, but we can't wait for Ziva and McGee to find us. God knows where we are..."


	4. Chapter 4

An hour of stumbling and Gibbs literally dragging Tony, they had to stop under the protection of a huge, obviously ancient, tree. The only positive thing about their location in the forest was that the leaves of the trees kept the heavy drops at least a little bit from dropping mercilessly on their already freezing bodies.

In the distance, Gibbs suddenly saw silhouettes of what seemed to be a cabin. First, he wanted to blame his imagination. But as soon as they came closer it was clearer.

_Yes, that is definitely a cabin. Thought our luck was run out…_

Gibbs led the now even paler looking Tony at the root of the giant tree; his back leaning at the bark. Cupping Tony's face into his hand he could see how Tony tried to keep his eyes open. He tried hard to focus on Gibbs but his eye lids kept drooping.

"Hey Tony? I need you to stay awake for a bit okay? I might have found somewhere we can stay the night. But I need to check it first. Can you do that for me?"

Tony's eyes suddenly widened and his tremor intensified. He clung with his freezing hands onto Gibbs arms.

"Don't leave me here, please." He whimpered. "Please."

Gibbs was a bit surprised but touched Tony's cheek and patted it gently.

"Hey, hey, I'm coming back, I promise okay? I just need to check if and WHO is in this cabin. We don't want another bad surprise, do we?"

"Huh?" Was Tony's only reply.

"You just wait here and stay awake okay?"

Tony reluctantly let go off his boss' arm, nodding. "Kay.."

"Good boy," Gibbs ruffled Tony's hair and made his way to the cabin, which appeared to be inhabited as he could see a dim light in the window. When he was close, he ducked and made the last part quickly so he wouldn't get noticed.

At the window, he looked into the room. He could see a couch in front of a fireplace, which was lit. Somebody was sitting on the couch but he couldn't make up who or what person it was as he could only see the shadow. He waited a few minutes and looked again. The person was gone.

_Shit, shit, shit._

He was just about to get back to Tony when he heard the door creak open. Expecting the worst, he just stared at the door.

-NCIS-

The door opened slowly and then Gibbs saw the person…and he led out a breath. A woman at least in her mid 70s walked out of the door and looked instantly at the man crouched in the corner.

"My dear, what are you doing out there? You will freeze to death. Come inside."

Gibbs, who still had to recover from this fortunate surprise, raised and stared at the woman.

She held the door open and waited for Gibbs so enter.

"C'mon in, it's nice and cosy inside. But not if we keep the door open for much longer!"

"Thank you. This is very nice of you, but there's someone I need to get first. I'll get him and be back, right away."

Gibbs literally ran over to the tree where he left Tony. When he arrived he could see Tony's form lying on his side with his eyes closed. He was by his side instantly and lifted his upper body into a sitting position. Tony's limp body fell on his chest.

"Hey, Tony! Tony! Open your eyes." He patted Tony's cheek to wake him up. Then, Tony's eyes fluttered open. His fists curled into Gibbs coat.

"Y-y-you s-s-said y-you w-wouldn't l-leave m-m-me."

When he saw Tony's eyes filling with tears Gibbs' heart broke. "Yeah, I know, but I came back right? And I've got good news, there is a cabin where we can stay."

Tony stared at him as if he didn't have a clue what Gibbs was saying as he was struck by a coughing fit. By the time he was finished he began to shake violently.

"You okay now? C'mon, up we go. It's warm inside."

Gibbs pulled Tony up and they went to the house. The door was left open. When they entered they could immediately feel the warmth of the fire. He kicked the door closed with his boots and saw the old woman standing in front of the couch.

"Good heavens! What happened to him? Come over here; we can lay him down on the sofa."

Gibbs made his way to the couch with the now semi-conscious Tony and put him on the couch. He took off Tony's soaked coat before he wrapped the blankets around his shivering agent. Tony had his eyes already closed and was still shivering, violently.

Gibbs took off his own coat and sat down beside the couch where Tony was lying, in front of the fireplace.

Rubbing his hands Gibbs turned to Tony who, surprisingly, had his eyes suddenly open, staring at his boss. Gibbs looked at him for half a second and then saw how Tony raised his shaking hand into Gibbs' own and squeezed it with all his power he had left.

"Th- th- thanks." Was all he managed to say when he gave up the battle of staying awake, his eyes closed and Gibbs knew Tony was asleep straight away.

-NCIS-

Gibbs looked up when he saw the old woman coming downstairs with a couple of blankets in her arms. Arriving at the couch she draped two of them around Tony's shivering form and one around Gibbs shoulders before going to the kitchen. Gibbs nodded his thanks and looked back at Tony. He had to make sure he woke him up soon to check if he still was all right.

The woman returned asking, "I assume you'd like a coffee? I put the kettle on."

"Yeah I think I could use some of that. But first, did you call an ambulance already? If not that should be the first thing..." He stopped talking when he saw the change on the older woman's facial expression. "What? What's wrong? You do have a telephone right?"

She sighed "Yes, yes I do but the storm and bad weather...I've got no electricity at all. I live so far away from the next town."

"But how do you get food and other stuff? Won't your family or friends worry?"

"I don't have family anymore...and I get groceries delivered every week. Last delivery was two days ago..."

Gibbs was ready to scream by now out of frustration. How were they able to get Tony help now?

"My name's Lisa by the way..." She smiled at him with a apologetically. "Sorry about the phone but I'll try to do everything I can to help."

Gibbs shook his head "No, it's not your fault. Thanks to you, we're at least out of the freezing cold." He smiled to reassure her, although he felt like crying. Gibbs was just about to get up from the floor when he saw Tony stirring on the couch, mumbling something unintelligible.

Gibbs was at his side instantly.

"Hey Tony, can you hear me?" Tony had narrow eyes and his face showed signs of pain.

Gibbs touched his agents cheeks and patted them gently. "Hey, hey, wake up Tony, it's me."

Then suddenly Tony's eyes flew open and blood shot eyes stared through Gibbs' without even seeing his boss. He looked frightened to death. Gibbs tried again. "Tony, c'mon really, look at me. I'm here, it's gonna be okay." Gibbs pushed Tony into a sitting position. But Tony made no effort of keeping himself upright so he just leaned into Gibbs who sat next to him. He was now staring right into the fire. Gibbs could feel the heat radiating from Tony's body.

"Lisa, please get a cool cloth for him." Lisa nodded her understanding and headed to the kitchen. She returned quickly with the cloth and handed it to Gibbs. He laid it onto Tony' s forehead who winced by the touch. Soon Tony's eyes closed and his body relaxed slightly against Gibbs' and he drifted off to sleep. While watching the fire Gibbs stroked Tony's damp hair absent-mindedly. He didn't even notice Lisa coming to the couch putting a pot of coffee on the table next to the sofa.

"I don't know if it helps, but there is a car in the back of the garden. It wasn't used for a long time, but maybe you could get it working, I mean it's worth a try, right?" She looked down on her hands nervously. For some reason Gibbs felt better knowing there was at least something they, or better he, could do instead of waiting for next week. He looked up to Lisa who was still standing there.

"Yeah, thank you. I think I'll take a look at it tomorrow morning. And thank you for everything."

"I am glad I can help, and maybe the weather is better tomorrow. And maybe the car will work and we can get your son some real help." Gibbs smiled when he heard her referring to Tony as his son. He didn't have the power to tell her he is not. And for Gibbs, sometimes Tony felt like a son to him. So it wasn't that off base anyway.

Gibbs tried to relax himself in the couch and tried to drift off to get some needed sleep himself.


	5. Chapter 5

**Right, I know a simple "sorry" isn't enough...but well I at least try to finish the story, I'm just sorry that it takes that long. Thank you so much for your reviews and thank you for still reading it! I love hearing from you :) Soo keep the coming! Lots of love! And a happy new year, I know it's a week already...but hell, who cares :D Thanks! xxx**

The next morning, when Tony woke up, the first thing he perceived was sharp pain in his whole body. He tried to open his eyes, but his vision was blurry; he could only make out that he was lying on something warm. He tried to remember what happened the last time he was awake. His mind was fuzzy. He attempted to get up, but when his whole body refused to do so, he fell face-down onto the carpet directly in front of the crackling fire place. Because of his hazy vision the only thing he was able to register was that there was a fire. He was terrified like he'd never been before. He tried to crawl away from the fire. Then he suddenly heard a voice from above.

"Tony? Are you okay? Let me help you back on the couch. Are you hurt?"

Tony didn't even make out what she was saying, he was trying to get away from her.

_Who was she? And...oh my god, GIBBS! The fire...where is Gibbs? Who is this? I need to get out..get out!_

Lisa bent down to touch Tony's shoulder when she heard him mumbling Gibbs' name. Tony immediately flinched and moved backwards until he hit the couch. He held his hands in front of his face, repeatedly begging her not to hurt him.

"It's okay, Tony. I'm gonna help ya. C'mon..." As soon as she tried to get closer to Tony, he screamed as loud as he could.

"GIIBBS! HELP ME! HEEEELLP!"

Because of his loud shouting, Tony started coughing immediately. The coughing became worse and he then struggled to breathe.

Just a second later Gibbs stormed into the room. "Lisa, what's wrong? What.." he spotted Tony on the floor who was huddled next to the couch looking so pale and sweating all over. He ran over to Tony instantly.

"Hey, Tony. Tony look at me. I'm here, okay? Calm down." He put his hands on Tony's, pulling them down so Tony was able to look directly into Gibbs' eyes.

"Gibbs? The fire..the...where.."

"Hey hey, it's okay, I'm here. I was just outside to fix a car so we can you some help, okay? C'mon; try to breathe."

Gibbs looked a bit staggered when Tony threw himself into Gibbs' embrace, sobbing freely into Gibbs' shirt. He held tighter onto Tony when he felt him shaking badly.

When Tony calmed, Gibbs pulled away, he wiped some of the tears off Tony's face, asking, "You okay now?"

Tony looked embarrassed. "Yes, Boss, I'm sorry. I didn't know what I was doing..I.."

He was interrupted by a light head slap. Of course the light version; not as hard to hurt his bruised head, but still hard enough so he felt it.

"Let's get you off the floor," Gibbs started to get up and reached down to Tony who made no sign of moving himself. "C'mon, Tony."

Tony blinked a few times before nodding and reaching out for his boss' hands. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to try and stand up at once. He swayed dangerously but soon felt Gibbs' hands around his waist and shoulder. The worst part was that Tony had to start coughing again. Gibbs quickly led Tony back on the couch. He looked around in direction of the kitchen where he saw Lisa standing with a frightened expression.

"Hey Lisa, are you okay?"

"I'm sorry Mister Gibbs, I didn't want to..."

She looked as if she almost started to cry.

"No, no, you didn't do anything wrong. Just please could you bring some water for Tony here?"

Lisa looked a bit relieved before saying: "Yes, of course." She came back only a few seconds later and brought a glass of water.

"Thanks," Gibbs said and put the glass to Tony's mouth. Tony drank a bit and the cough calmed a bit. Tony slid down to lay on the couch. He was exhausted and he couldn't explain why he'd reacted like that. Did he start to hallucinate? But what was worse is the fact that he had started coughing. That's never a good sign with his scarred lungs.

He closed his eyes, but someone shook him so he was forced to open them again. He blinked at Gibbs face to make it clearer, he started to have a blurry vision again.

"Hey Tony, it's okay if you want to take a nap. I just want to tell ya that I'm outside again, to get the car to work. Okay? Lisa here will take care of you while I'm outside." Tony looked at Gibbs for a second and then to Lisa and then back to Gibbs. "Is that okay Tony? Will you be all right?"

Tony had weird feeling about all this but the only thing he wanted to do was sleep; he was bone tired and he wanted to show Gibbs that he was big boy now, although he preferred to have Gibbs around. He smiled wearily at Gibbs.

"Yeah, sure. Just wanna sleep. You go and do what you gotta do. I'll be fine."

Gibbs bent down and ruffled Tony's hair. "Good boy."

As soon as Gibbs left the couch, Tony fell asleep.

Gibbs went to Lisa who was in the kitchen before he headed outside.

"Hey, just keep an eye on him okay? And call me as soon if he gets worse or you think there might be a problem."

She gave him a nod and he added, "And thank you for everything you do. I don't know where we'd be now if it wasn't for you."

She smiled at him and answered, "Don't thank me; I've barely done anything yet."

Gibbs smiled back at her and left to continue working on the car.

-NCIS-

As soon as Gibbs left the house, Lisa went back in the kitchen to start some sandwiches and a hot tea for Tony.

After finishing the sandwiches and tea, Lisa put everything on a tray and brought it into the living room. She placed the tray onto the small coffee table next to the sofa where Tony laid on. She gently shook Tony's shoulders. Tony grunted, asking himself why he'd been woken up so soon again. He blinked a couple of times until his eyes focused on the old lady. He didn't know why, but for some reason he didn't trust her. He felt better when Gibbs was around, but he wasn't now and he promised to be good. So he just smiled at her wearily and sat up a bit. This action though resulted in him almost coughing up his lung.

"Easy, easy." Lisa pushed Tony up in a more comfortable situation to breathe better. When Tony finally finished he laid down back, tired from exhaustion.

"Tony, dear, you really should eat something. You need your strength to recover."

Tony looked at her with eyes at half mast, forcing a faked smile.

"Thank you, but I don't think I will be able to keep it down."

Lisa watched him for a couple of second before answering.

"Okay, but at least drink something for me okay? You need fluids."

Tony thought it through when he finally nodded and slowly sat up again. While Tony was in motion to get his upper body in a better position to be able to drink and not spill it, Lisa turned around to the tray. What Tony didn't see, was the fact that she opened one of her huge rings and a tiny amount of powder poured into the glass of orange juice. She stirred it with a spoon and soon you didn't see any trace of the powder left in the glass. Just in this moment the door flung open and Gibbs entered the house. He had a smile on his face. Lisa put on her own fake smile and asked Gibbs:

"So? How's the work with the car going?"

"Really good actually, I think one or two more hours and we're ready to leave." Gibbs smiled at her and walked over to Tony, who had pushed himself into a sitting position.

"How are you doin' Tony?"

Tony gave him a weak smile.

"I'm okay, I guess." He winced when agonising pain shot through his skull. He clutched his head with both hands. Gibbs was at his side on the couch in an instance.

"Tony, you okay? Can ya hear me?"

Tony blinked a couple of times and when the worst wave of pain was gone he slowly shook his head and nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay."

Lisa used this moment to intervene.

"What about something to drink? Maybe it's from the lack of fluids?"

"Yeah that's probably a good idea, right Tony?" Gibbs looked at him and Tony knew he didn't have another choice but to comply. He took the drink from Lisa and put it slowly to his lips. He felt the fluid flow down his oesophagus. It actually felt good. He gave the glass back to Lisa and suddenly felt like lying down again. Gibbs watched him worriedly and helped him lay back down.

"You sure you feel okay?"

"Yeah, 'm jus' tired..."

"Okay, I will just quickly eat something and then go back to the car. Then we're leaving this place and get you some real help!"

Tony was sound asleep straightaway, he didn't even realise Gibbs saying that last sentence.

Gibbs sighed and hoped that he was able to fix the car in time. Tony needed help, soon.

-NCIS-

After Gibbs had something to eat, he went back outside to the car, he didn't want to waste more time. Precious time; time Tony needed.

Lisa was sitting in the kitchen, knitting something. After a while she stood and checked on Tony. When she entered the living room, she saw Tony restlessly moving around on the couch; visibly having a night mare. He had his eyes closed tight. She watched him a little while longer and then walked over to him. She could hear him mumbling something unintelligible. She got closer to his face.

"Gibbs, please. Don't, don't leave me. Please."

Tony frowned and turned onto his side, almost falling off the couch again. Lisa grinned devilishly and put a hand on Tony's forehead. She could feel the fever already.

_Now that was quick._

_**TBC...**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! I know this chapter is reeeeaaally short, but it's short for a reason :) I also started on the seventh chapter, so I hope to update tomorrow :) Hope you like it! And thanks for all those lovely reviews, love them!**

After studying Tony's pain-filled face for a couple more seconds, Lisa walked over to the window by the door. She saw Gibbs lying under the car, trying to fix something. If she really wanted to do this, she had to do it quick. She thought the car couldn't be fixed; she didn't expect Gibbs to fix it at all, and now he's almost finished.

She quickly went back to Tony's side, who had kicked the blanket to the floor. As result his whole body started shaking. Lisa grinned again and laid a hand on Tony's flushed cheeks.

_It is so much easier when they can't fight back._

Lisa went into the kitchen, opened a drawer and got the out the biggest knife she was in possession of. As soon as she entered the living room again, the front door opened. Lisa and Gibbs stopped dead in their tracks, staring at each other. Gibbs found his voice first.

"What the..?"

But before he could move himself, Lisa was at Tony's side, the knife dangerously close to Tony's throat.

"Let him go! Now!"

Lisa's mind was racing; she didn't expect it to be this way. Everything was wrong this time. It had always worked; why not this now? Why not with these two?

She had to get out, and take Tony as her key to escaping unharmed.

She dragged him off the couch onto the floor. That was enough to wake him up. But Tony couldn't move. Everything was swimming in front of his eyes. But then he saw Gibbs standing just a couple of metres in front of him, looking terrified. He tried to move his head, but when he did, the knife cut into his throat. He screamed and heard the voice.

"If I were you, I wouldn't do that again."

Then he knew; _Lisa_!

"Now get up, we need to get going!"

Lisa tried to pull him up, but as soon as Tony was standing, his vision became blurry and the last thing he heard was Gibbs' yelling.

"No! Tony!"

**tbc...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey! I know I know, another reeeeally short chapter..but I just had to stop there... Hope you still like it! :) I am writing at this moment for the next chapter! And hey, even if it's just a little bit, at least I'm writing something...right? Well anyways, thanks for reading! :)**

It was horrible to watch Tony falling. Lisa didn't move, she just stood there, still holding the knife in her hand, at Tony's throat. The knife slid into Tony's throat and the only thing Gibbs saw was the blood. Tony was covered in it.

"No! Tony!"

Gibbs face was petrified. He stared at Tony. Tony was laying there, motionless, he didn't even twitch. He was just lying there, face down, not moving. Gibbs' eyes wandered over to Lisa's, who was looking down on Tony.

Before Gibbs let himself think, he acted. He ran towards Tony. He subconsciously knew that his movement was suicidal, but everything he had on his mind was his agent, who was lying in a puddle of his own blood, still not making any sign of movement. He had his eyes only for Tony. He ran over to him and immediately embraced his agent into his arms.

Lisa raised her arm, knife in her hand, ready to kill.

Then all of a sudden, a gun shot rang out. Gibbs lifted his head and saw Lisa's wide opened eyes. The knife fell out of her limp hand and she fell on the floor next to Tony and Gibbs. The next thing he knew, Ziva, McGee and three other agents stormed into the small house. But he didn't care, all he saw was Tony lying in his arms, still not moving.

He saw Ziva coming over to them. Before she could say anything he shouted, "Ziva! Get a cloth or anything to stop the bleeding! Now!"

Ziva immediately ran into the kitchen. Gibbs turned back to Tony. His face ashen already. He patted his cheek gently, trying to rouse him.

"Hey Tony, you gotta wake up now. C'mon, don't do this to me."

Tony didn't make any sign of waking up. When Ziva returned with a couple of kitchen towels, Gibbs took them straightaway and pressed them onto Tony's neck. He looked up into Ziva's concered eyes.

"Have you called for an ambulance?"

"The helicopter is on its way; won't be long."

She gave him a reassuring smile, but Gibbs just nodded and turned back to Tony.

"Help is on the way, Tony. Please... please keep fighting!"

**TBC...**


	8. Chapter 8

**Right, I can't say how sorry I am for letting you wait again..but I had a lot of exams and then other problems to take care of...anyway, this is the last chapter, I hope you're not disappointed, but I think it's a reasonable ending. I just want to thank everyone who have read this story and first of all all those lovely reviewers! Love you! And a big thanks to Xenascully, who's my beta and became a good friend whom I can tell everything! And this year I'm gonna book a flight and come to America to visit her :) xxxxxxx**

Gibbs had his eyes glued on Tony's closed ones. He was pulled away from Tony when the paramedics arrived. He still had his eyes on Tony's. He kept fighting; wanted to stay at Tony's side. Didn't want to let go...

The worst thing was that Tony hadn't moved yet. That just seemed wrong.

Gibbs struggled to get out of Ziva's grasp, but she didn't let go. She attempted to calm him, "Gibbs! Calm down, they're helping him! Leave them to their work." When that didn't work, Ziva raised her voice, "GIBBS!"

That seemed to let Gibbs snap out of it and he stopped struggling. His eyes followed the paramedics who were readying to put Tony on a stretcher, shouting medical phrases at each other that Gibbs didn't understand.

When Ziva let him go, Gibbs hurried after the paramedics who were on their way to the helicopter. He was held back by one of them.

"Sorry sir, there isn't enough room for all of us."

Gibbs was just about to complain when he felt a gentle hand his shoulder. He turned and saw Ziva's sympathetic face.

"Come, I will drive you. They need to leave soon, to help Tony."

Although it wasn't Gibbs way to handle things, he surrendered, because he knew Ziva was right. He gave a final glance to Tony, who was safely strapped on the stretcher on the helicopter, and turned around to follow Ziva to her car.

-NCIS-

The car ride was silent. Ziva didn't know what to say and Gibbs wasn't really the person to talk about his feelings. What worried Ziva was that Gibbs let her drive. She glanced to her right looking at him. He just stared out of the window onto the street.

"I think you should know, we have apprehended Ewan and Charlie. We found them when we were searching for you. A bit lucky I guess, but sometimes we need luck, correct?"

Gibbs stayed silent; staring blankly ahead. Nevertheless, Ziva continued talking. She knew he was listening; he just didn't want to answer.

"Anyway, Ewan spilled everything. He was a nervous wreck when we arrested them. Charlie was furious but I think Ewan was just glad that everything was over. He told us where the place was where they left you. From there, we were able to track your movement. Then we found you...just in time..."

-NCIS-

They arrived at the hospital in record time. Gibbs was out of the car before Ziva had a chance to stop the car. He ran into the hospital.

After parking the car she headed towards the entrance and saw Gibbs just leaving the desk at the front door, running to the stairs. She had a surprisingly difficult time keeping up with him, but eventually she caught up.

He was already talking to a doctor in the middle of the long hospital hallway. When she arrived she could finally hear what the doctor was saying.

"...so I think he will fully recover. There is no need to worry."

Gibbs let out a shaky breath. "Can I see him?"

"Of course, it's room 17, just over there." He pointed to a door just a few metres away from where they were standing. "But he won't be waking up for a couple of hours anyway. He needs to rest."

"Yes, of course. Thanks."

Gibbs watched the doctor as he left, and saw Ziva coming towards him.

She smiled softly. "So he is going to be okay?"

Gibbs let his relief in that thought cause a small smile to show on his face. "Yeah. Doc said his wounds are infected, but are being treated. It turned out that he had a sedative in his system. That bitch gave him something...If she wasn't dead already..."

Gibbs looked down on the floor and then back to Ziva. "I'm gonna go see Tony now."

Ziva knew he wanted to be alone with him for a while so she took out her mobile phone. "I will call McGee. Perhaps he has some news about this Lisa woman."

He nodded and turned around and headed to Tony's room.

-NCIS-

Gibbs entered the room quietly. After closing the door behind him he pulled one of the plastic chairs close to Tony's bed. Actually, Tony looked peaceful. Gibbs couldn't fully believe the doctor when he said he was going to be okay. There had been so much blood.

Mental images of Lisa with the knife flashed back before his eyes. He looked down on Tony and took one limp hand of his agent into his own.

"Tony..." he started, even though he knew that Tony couldn't hear him, he had to get this out. Might be better this way anyway. He knew he wouldn't hear the end of it... "I know I don't say it very often, but I'm sorry. I shouldn't have trusted her so easily. And I don't think I should have let you go back to the warehouse alone in the first place."

He sighed heavily. "Why does this always happen to you? And what if next time Ziva and McGee don't show up in time? We can't always save you..."

He leaned back in his chair and sighed once more. He got up and ruffled Tony's hair gently. Getting closer to his agents face he whispered: "But you know, I am really proud of you. For everything you have done."

He patted Tony's cheek and left the room to find Ziva.

What Gibbs didn't see, was the smile on Tony's face.

-NCIS-

Gibbs didn't have to search for long. Ziva was leaning against the wall next to the door. "What did McGee say?"

"This Lisa was one evil bitch," she said. Gibbs raised a brow, surprised to hear the word used by his Israeli agent. "The search dogs went mad. They found about 17 bodies in the garden...they are not sure if there are more. They are still looking."

That got Gibbs attention. He looked up surprised.

"They also found several chemicals for sedation and..." she hesitated.

"What, Ziva?"

"The basement looked like Ducky's autopsy rooms, just dirty... "

That was enough for Gibbs' mind to lose control and show images of how things could have gone wrong.

"Gibbs, are you okay?" Ziva gently touched his shoulder with her hand.

"Yeah, of course. I'll go back to Tony. You know what to do."

Without waiting for an reply, Gibbs went back into Tony's room and left Ziva standing outside.

Ziva looked after him and gave a sad smile.

_He blames himself._

-NCIS-

_2 Weeks later..._

Gibbs was standing on top of the stairs looking down on his agents. McGee and Ziva were standing in front of Tony's desk. Abby was there as well, right on top of Tony's lap. They were chatting and laughing. Gibbs smiled to himself and went downstairs. When he came closer he could hear the happily talking of his agents and his forensic scientist.

"Hey, Gibbs!" He heard Abby's cheerful voice, she waved at him when he walked towards his desk.

"Well I guess it is time to go, we all need a good night's sleep," Ziva stated.

McGee nodded and gently pulled Abby off Tony's lap.

"C'mon, let's get your stuff from the lab." Abby was just about to protest when she realised what McGee and Ziva were intending. She turned around to Tony and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"We'll meet you at the bar, right?" Tony nodded, then smiling when Abby whispered "Try and convince him to join!".

Then Ziva, Abby and Tim left the bullpen, leaving Tony and Gibbs alone. Tony stayed in his chair, knowing Gibbs had something to say. The older agent stood up from his chair and went to lean onto Tony's desk with both arms. He hesitated and just before he could say a word Tony interrupted him.

"It's not your fault you know. It was my stupidity that got us in that situation in the first place...and..I don't know why but I guess I am a trouble magnet.." He looked apologetic at his boss and continued, "But the worst thing I could imagine is that because of me, someone...you...gets hurt. I got you in enough trouble already and I don't want to be responsible if anything happens to you..You are family..all the years I've worked for you, you've been like the father I never had for me. I learned so much from you..and I don't want to lose you. First of all, if it's all my fault..you've got to promise me that you will never try to save me if it brings you into danger..please, promise me?"

Gibbs was speechless, even for him, in this situation it was really hard to keep his tears from falling.

"You know I can't promise you that..."

Tony chuckled.

"Somehow I thought you'd say it..." He shot Gibbs a reassuring smile, telling him without words that he understood. Just in this moment Ziva, Tim and Abby came rushing into the bullpen with Ducky in tow.

"Ready?" Abby almost shouted.

Tony got up from his own chair and pulled his coat on.

"Yes we are, and I even convinced Gibbs here to join us." He gave Gibbs his best smile, hoping that he'd agree. Gibbs just rolled his eyes and turned and strode to the elevator. Tony shared a look with the others, uncertain if that was a yes or a no. Gibbs turned on his heel looking at them expectantly.

"What are you waiting for?"

Tony ran with a huge smile on his face towards the elevator, not able to wait to spend a brilliant night with his family. His real family.

THE END


End file.
